For the past 15 years, the shop at Strood Green in Surrey has offered a space for everyone in the community to not only belong, but to thrive. Andrew Dubock, Communications Manager at Plunkett UK, paid a visit to meet the team, alongside members of a Trust that supports us.
It immediately caught my attention: there can’t be many community-owned businesses that display a blue plaque.
Hexagonal in shape, this National Chemical Landmark states this was a site where, in 1957, a chemical was discovered that was used in new penicillin. “These medicines have relieved suffering and saved millions of lives worldwide.”
Fast-forward almost 70 years, and the community-owned shop on these premises may not have the same scale of influence and impact as those scientists did, but, in this beautiful part of Surrey, people’s lives are certainly being changed for the better.
Connecting to the community
The Shop at Strood Green celebrated its 15th birthday earlier this year and continues to flourish. Each day, it connects to the community in a variety of ways.
People come not only to shop, but also to get some company through chatting to staff, to meet friends over a drink and pastry in the café, to borrow books, and to make use of the computer and copier/printing facilities at the dedicated IT station.
It gives young people an opportunity to gain work experience and to complete their Duke of Edinburgh Award programmes. It’s a place for passing numerous cyclists to stop, refuel and refresh on one of the UK’s famous bike routes.
At Christmas, people in the village or in several neighbouring ones, can order a hamper of goodies from the shop that will keep them stocked up for the festive period. Much of the hamper’s produce is from local suppliers, and that is a value the shop promotes all year round with its well-stocked range of goods. (I can recommend the locally-made plum and ginger jam!)
It’s all about relationship
My visit to Strood Green community shop was to meet with the shop manager and two members of the committee, who shared with me about how the business operates and, more importantly, why they do it.
They recognise the impact of isolation and loneliness, which can be more prevalent in rural areas, on people’s mental health, and the importance of a welcoming, safe, accessible local space – one that goes above merely transaction to be about interaction and relationship.
Plunkett UK has been delighted to support Strood Green, not only at the time of the shop’s set-up in 2008, but also as recently as last year when a Plunkett adviser took the business through a healthcheck – something we offer to our members as a best practice exercise.
Understanding the sector
Throughout the years, Strood Green has been an inspiration to other local community-owned businesses, and it’s easy to see why – it’s an impressive offering.
Another reason for my recent visit to Surrey was to welcome a director and trustees from Highway One Trust, an independent grant-maker who generously gave a grant to Plunkett earlier this year to help fund our core community business service.
This was a great opportunity for Highway One to see how a community-owned business operates ‘on the ground’ and to better understand the work they are supporting through Plunkett, and the sector as a whole. They asked questions of both me and the shop team and built up a picture of the opportunities and challenges, and of how it tangibly makes a difference in local people’s lives.
After the visit, Amelia Gosal, Director of Highway One Trust, said, “We very much appreciated meeting the team at the shop and Andrew too – it helped us to see how Plunkett supports a venture in the initial stages and the ongoing relationship that develops.”
Thank you to Highway One Trust for its crucial support that means we can help even more community businesses to be inclusive, resilient and thriving, and thanks to the team at Strood Green shop for showcasing their brilliant business.
They might not have a blue plaque, but they certainly deserve an accolade for the way they serve the community.
